Gloversville mayor: fund school guards via lottery

CAPITAL REGION - Like many proposals these days, Mayor Dayton King first floated the idea of a lottery scratch off - with proceeds dedicated solely to school security - on Facebook.

"If people know by buying a scratch off that could do that, more people would do that. It's a choice not an extra tax," maintains Gloversville's mayor.

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According to New York state, lottery proceeds contributed close to $3.3 billion to education last year, with more than just $2.3 billion coming from traditional lottery. According to King, it's a simple fix to a complex problem.

"I don't think this costs a lot of money for the reward it has. Right now our kids,teachers and staff are at risk."

Regardless of how it's funded, Alice Green with the Center for Law and Justice argues that armed guards are not a safe solution. Her fear is that students of color are more likely to die at the hands of law enforcement.

"That's what's happening on the outside. We have no reason to believe it would be any different inside of a school, so we are really concerned about that issue," explained Green.

A New York State Lottery spokeswoman did not return NewsChannel 13's call regarding the feasibility of additional lottery money going to schools King says he's working to schedule meetings with the Assembly member who represents Gloversville and Senator Jim Tedisco next week.

"We can talk about it and it feels good, but if we don't have an answer to how we will fund this, it's going to be taken away," added King.

Fourteen percent of education funding in New York state is lottery based.